In the Gospel of Matthew, the twenty-third
through twenty-fifth chapters, Jesus deals with many circumstances of His time,
and prepares the disciples for His coming scourging and death. He explains that dark times are ahead, but
there’s a brighter day coming. Today we
look at these chapters, and see if they might shed some light on the dark days
we are experiencing here in America, and how the Christian should embrace our “dual-citizenship”
as citizens of both the United States of America and the Kingdom of God.
The United States of America is in a
crisis. The Church is in a crisis. It is a crisis described in the prophetic
words of Paul as he wrote to Timothy, his student, and serving as pastor of the
Church at Ephesus:
I Timothy 3:1-9 But know this, that in
the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving,
unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong,
haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of
godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are
those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down
with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never
able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres
resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds,
disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no
further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.
Read those verses through verse seven. Is this not the day in which we find
ourselves? Dark days have come to our
land. And in Matthew chapter
twenty-three dark days were coming to Jesus and the disciples.
Jesus had just recently entered through the Eastern
Gate of Jerusalem to cries of “Hosanna!
Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes
in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9)
How cool is that?! (sorry – I am
a teen of the 70’s) They were, no doubt,
bouncing around the crowd, soaking in all the experience had to offer. And then the darkness forced itself into the
days ahead.
While the Romans had dominion over the land
of Israel, the prevailing local government of the land was the rulers of the
Jewish Temple. They even had their own “army”,
the Temple Guard. When they ultimately
approached Pilot to have Jesus tried, he told them to stop bothering him and try
Jesus under their law.
Jesus stirred some controversy when, after
being hailed “king” as He entered the gates, He entered the Temple and “cleansed”
it. He braided a whip (He didn’t buy one
from local merchants), and proceeded to “drive out” the merchants selling
sacrifices there.
Now why is this significant? Because God had specifically told the Jews to
bring their own sacrifice from their own herds, or farm, and bring the absolute
best. While many traveled a LONG
distance to get to the Temple at this time of the Passover, the merchants, by
means of the blessing of the religious leadership, were turning the place of
sacrifice into a place focused on “other” things. When we gather in the presence of God, and with
His people, the focus should be on the worship, and not the wealth. Jesus’ scathing denouncement of the Pharisees
what that they cleaned up really nicely on the outside, but God knew that
inside their focus was not on true service of Him, but on drawing attention to
their awesomeness of prayers and superiority of “spirituality”. He deemed them a people more like vipers
(poisonous snakes) that those serving the people, as they were ordained to.
The focus of the leadership was on carnal
things, rather than spiritual. They were
more involved for what was in it for them.
This is the prideful and self-centered attitude that God simply calls
out as something He hates. (Proverbs
6:16-17 & 21:4)
In the United States of America the problem
has become that the government is now “employing” those focused on their power
and authority, with a raised ideal of themselves. They think they are better than anyone
else. They purport that they are for “the
little guy”, while enacting legislation and ordering actions that instead are
an attempt to exercise their control over others and demean the value of the
general populace.
At the same time, they deny God. They deny the place of authority God has had
in the formation of our nation since its inception. President George Washington warned against
this in his final address to the Congress and, thereby, to the nation.
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity,
religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim
the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of
human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The
mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish
them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public
felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for
reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths
which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let
us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without
religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on
minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect
that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
We are a religious people. Washington also referred to the fact that,
except for minor variations among the denominations and practices of individual
churches, “you have the same religion”.
Where the calling of God is for His people to
send light into the world through proclamation of His truth, the Church has
shirked on its duty to impact our surrounding society for many decades. We have gathered in our buildings and sung
our songs with enthusiasm, while leaving the “teaching” to those whose secular
worldview has caused most to believe they are nothing more than evolved
slime-monkeys. (yes…I said
slime-monkeys)
Jesus sent us into “all the world” so that we
might go about “teaching them to observe all things” He has “commanded”
us. (Mark 16:15 & Matthew
28:20) We have sat back and believed the
lie that we have no place in public influence.
Yet our very faith demands that we make a difference, and preach the
gospel regardless of what man says or thinks.
“We ought to obey God rather than men.”
(Acts 5:29) Several Founding
Fathers encouraged the election of Christians to fill the positions of
authority in our nation.
And while the nation passed legislation to
take over control of the benevolent aspects of society that were and are the
responsibility of the Church, we sat by and sang our hymns and covered our eyes
to what was happening. Public welfare
was conducted by the “religious” before it was allowed to pass into the hands
of the “secular”. And because the Church
abandoned its primary place in that arena, many have come to see it as
irrelevant. The New Deal was actually The
Raw Deal for the Christian church.
And here is where Jesus began in His
parables. The Parable of the Two Sons, and
the Parable of the Wicked Vine-Dressers.
In each He speaks of those sent into the vineyard, or field, to
work. One son immediately agrees to go
work, but does not, and the other son says he will not, but then does. The one who did the work, and did not only talk the talk is the one the father was
pleased with.
The vine-dressers are sent into the vineyard
to do the work and prepare for the coming of the owner to gather his
harvest. When he sends his servants in
to gather the fruit of the land he owns, they are beaten and some killed. When he ultimately sends in his son, they
also kill him and talk of taking “his inheritance” by force. The owner will come and bring a severe
judgment on those vine-dressers. In
fact, Jesus compares the Jews to those vine-dressers. He states very clearly:
“The kingdom of God shall
be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” -Matthew 21:43
God has sent us into the world, and has
caused us to be citizens of this nation.
He expects us to teach all the truth of His Word. He expects us to “occupy until” He returns.
(Luke 19:13 KJV) the New King James
Version states that those given “talents” or “minas” (forms of currency) were
to “do business” until He returned. They
were to labor diligently in all aspects of doing
business or occupying until He
relieved them of their duty.
It is up to you and I in the Christian faith
to gather ourselves back together, get into the field, and work. We must do
business and gather the fruit of our labor until He relieves us of duty.
This is difficult. There is much that has been lost. But the great part is that He has not only
placed this responsibility into our hands, but He gives us the means to see the
increase if we ask Him to help us. There
is no losing in the Kingdom of God when you place all you have and the results
of your labor into His hands.
Paul points this out very clearly in I
Corinthians 3:6-8
6 I planted, Apollos
watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who
plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God
who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he
who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his
own labor.
So many are trying to build their own “mini-kingdoms”
today. It is all in God’s hands. Let us place the results squarely upon Him,
and take it upon ourselves to do what we know we must.
This great people… We the People of the United States… have worked together to reach the lost
sinners of the world across this continent, throughout the entirety of the
globe, and back. We have been the
strongest contributor to the spreading of the gospel “unto the uttermost”. As I mentioned earlier, the Jews were warned
that, “The
kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth
the fruits thereof." (Matthew 21:43) We know this to be referring to the "Kingdom of God" in a spiritual realm, but He mentions a nation thtat would bring forth the fruits thereof. I know it is a bit of a stretch, but what if He was referring to this great land of religious liberty that would be founded upon Christian principles? And that would send send its missionaries throughout the globe to win the lost to Jesus Christ? And what if we were to be that nation? God has given Israel opportunities thoughout time to follow His ways, and when they removed themselves from Him, the blessings were removed, and judgment fell. What if our only chance to escape judgment is for us to lead a revival among the people?
And as to attempting to regain our place in
this great nation, the United States of America, the task seems
insurmountable. We must understand we
did not lose it overnight, and we probably will not regain it overnight. We must be committed to the long run. Our life as citizens of the Kingdom of God,
and of the United States in duo-citizenship, is not a sprint… it is a marathon. So:
… let us
lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race
that is set before us, 2 looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…
(Hebrews 12:1-2)
I encourage each of you
to recognize your place in this effort.
Not all will be called to run for political office. Not all will be called to proclaim this
message on the streets or into the public square through media. But all are called to go “into the highways
and hedges and compel them”* to come to the Lord Jesus Christ and accept Him as
personal Savior. *(Luke 14:23) All are required to reach out in whatever way
they are called, and to exercise their citizenship by voting their faith, and
not their conscience or feelings.
Spread the Word!
My
next post will deal with the further message of Christ in Matthew chapters
twenty-three through twenty-five.
In His Service,
Rex Louth
Author, God
Shed His Grace On Thee (2013) Westbow Press
No comments:
Post a Comment